The Future of Video: The Great Equalizer

This week I was speaking at Dublin Tech Week on the future of video. Here’s where I see video heading: we’ll see it serving more and more as an equalizer, a connector and humanizer.

In this post, I’ll discuss video as the great equalizer. Here’s what I mean: rather than being initially judged based on schools attended or degrees accumulated, people are increasingly being judged on their recorded videos to make that first strong impression.

That’s particularly true in the context of recruitment. For instance, in recruiting for their two year analyst position, Union Square Ventures now asks all candidates to record themselves on video. According to Andy Weissman, one of the partners there, the first thing he turns to when considering a candidate is his/her video. This is a change from how they previously decided which candidates would advance to the second round: based on candidates’ schools and degrees.

Such was the case of Joel, hired as one of USV’s analysts, who never actually graduated from college. Without video making that first strong impression, he most likely would have been cut during that initial round. As such, video opens up possibilities for candidates who might otherwise be overlooked.

Video also widens the pool of candidates considered for positions. Rather than being limited to – and competing for – the same group of Ivy League candidates sought after by other employers, video creates a whole new pool of candidates to consider.

I suppose I’ve taken an optimistic view of the future here. It’s also possible that video could abet prejudice by revealing early on the race and gender of candidates. (I’ll address this issue in a future post). It’s also likely that video will weed out strong candidates who are better writers than speakers. Yet for certain positions these oral abilities may indeed be key ingredients for successful hires.

On the whole, I see a future in which video creates more opportunities for those who may not otherwise have the usual credentials. My hope is it will eventually become the great equalizer.

This was originally published on Susan Danziger's blog.